Mean Streets: Lawton Has 108 Gangs
Lawton Police Department Gang Task Force members say they have identified 108 gangs within the city.
108.
"Gang members are threatening us. Informants tell me they're making threats to shoot me and other high-ranking officers. Well, here I am," said Police Chief Ronnie Smith.
Discussion of Lawton's mean streets comes following the shooting of a drug dealer by a Lawton officer last month.
On October 1st, someone fired shots at an officer's home. The officer wasn't home, but his wife and children were. Such things, said Smith, "are the acts of a coward."
A gang informant later told police that an officer would be shot and killed on October 7th. That didn't happen, but Lawton officers are on special alert and exercising extreme caution during traffic stops and responding to emergency calls, the chief said. U. S. Marshalls have joined local police in some instances.
The gang problem is pronounced in the city's black neighborhoods. Pastor Byron Elmore of Calvary Assembly of God, located in one of the city's worst gang territories, said he's heard rumors of death threats aimed at officers.
Confiscations of illegal firearms in Lawton indicate the scope of the problem, police say. In 2000, 107 illegal firearms were confiscated. In 2007, the number was 274 and this year, it already sits at 270 through the end of September.
108.
"Gang members are threatening us. Informants tell me they're making threats to shoot me and other high-ranking officers. Well, here I am," said Police Chief Ronnie Smith.
Discussion of Lawton's mean streets comes following the shooting of a drug dealer by a Lawton officer last month.
On October 1st, someone fired shots at an officer's home. The officer wasn't home, but his wife and children were. Such things, said Smith, "are the acts of a coward."
A gang informant later told police that an officer would be shot and killed on October 7th. That didn't happen, but Lawton officers are on special alert and exercising extreme caution during traffic stops and responding to emergency calls, the chief said. U. S. Marshalls have joined local police in some instances.
The gang problem is pronounced in the city's black neighborhoods. Pastor Byron Elmore of Calvary Assembly of God, located in one of the city's worst gang territories, said he's heard rumors of death threats aimed at officers.
Confiscations of illegal firearms in Lawton indicate the scope of the problem, police say. In 2000, 107 illegal firearms were confiscated. In 2007, the number was 274 and this year, it already sits at 270 through the end of September.
Labels: Lawton's Gangs
posted by Mike McCarville @ 1:38 PM
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